I'm Proud of You
by NevErEndiNgbElieF
Summary: North tells Jack four words he never knew that he'd always wanted to hear. "I'm proud of you."


**Based on the RoTG Prompt: Father figure; North tells Jack four words he never knew that he'd always wanted to hear.**

"I'm proud of you."

**ENJOY!**

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After the battle with Pitch, the guardians decided it was probably a great idea to take a bit of rest at Santoff Claussen for awhile. No one complained of course. Not even Bunny.

And so, here they were right now. All gathered around in North's fireplace. All except Jack, who made sure to make a distance between him and the roaring flames. He preferred to stay cold, thank you very much.

He smiled softly as he watched the others talk amongst themselves. Mostly they spoke of how glad they were that Sandy was back. Bunny, Tooth and Sandy were sharing a huge soft blanket, and honestly, they looked like kids, but that didn't matter. It was more comfortable and warmer that way.

The winter sprite sighed at the peace before trying to get himself in a more comfortable position at the window, when suddenly a certain guardian sat next to him.

North gave him a smile and handed him what seemed like hot choco. Jack blinked before tentatively accepting the drink that immediately turned lukewarm at the contact of his cold bare hands, "Uh… sorry…"

"Cold choco is better than warm choco, no?" North said as he chuckled, "No harm done."

Jack smiled back and sipped the drink gratefully.

"I say we have a celebration tomorrow." The guardian of wonder suddenly spoke up, "For our success in battle, da?"

"Yeah… I bet they would love that." Jack replied, "Though, I'm not sure about Kangaroo."

North laughed, "I assure you Bunny lovez party… hez juzt grouchy often times."

The winter sprite chuckled. Then he turned to the trio who looked like they were about to doze off, his eyes softened as he saw Sandy, "I'm so glad Sandy's alright."

"Ha! You must never underestimate Sandy! He's tougher than you think!" North spoke with pure confidence while straightening up a bit with his face filled with pride, making Jack laugh a bit, "I hear you…"

The jolly man turned to Jack and the smile on his face softened, "You were tough too, Jack. Very strong and courageous."

Jack looked up at the other's azure eyes, "I was just doing my job."

"And you did a good job…" North patted the other in the shoulder.

"Yeah…" The other raised an eyebrow as he noticed the odd behavior. The guardian of fun didn't seem as enthusiastic as how he usually was. Either he was tired or he was bothered by something.

"Is there something wrong, Jack?"

The winter sprite looked down at his cold choco, "I should've been more careful."

The bearded man was confused at what the other meant. So Jack continued, "I got Sandy shot and I ruined Easter. I totally made a mess of everything. I'm just glad everything turned out okay."

"Jack… do not blame yourself."

"But I do blame myself! If… if I haven't set that alarm off and made that dog chase Bunny around, then you guys wouldn't have been knocked out by dream sand and I wouldn't have left to chase after a nightmare with only Sandy as back-up. Then maybe he wouldn't have been forced to fight that huge dark cloud of sand all on his own while we worked together to fight those nightmares." Jack pursed his lips for a moment before continuing, "And I shouldn't have been so gullible when Pitch lured me with my memories. I could've helped with-"

"I'm proud of you."

Jack froze at the sudden words. Did he just hear… what he thought he heard? He turned to North, looking a bit stunned, "What…?"

"I'm proud of you, Jack." He held the small shoulders of the child, "And always will be…"

Something warm bloomed in his chest, and Jack had no idea what it was. Was it akin to happiness? Relief? And longing? Something prickled at the back of his eyes and in reaction he shut them and tried to cover the action by pretending to massage them. Why was he getting over emotional about that anyway?

Jack Frost, who had only caused mischief and mayhem -who pulled pranks to people who doesn't see him –who was always ignored and mistreated, finally made someone _proud_. For someone who had been trying to get other people's attention by doing nothing but try to be in the center of a mess… it was a huge achievement to have made someone… someone like North, who was a father figure to him, proud.

"You helped the last light believe in us and was able to make others do the same in a matter of seconds. You stood up to Pitch and protected the children. You saved us all from falling into darkness." North's words and tone was laced with pure sincerity and pride, "The mistakes you've done are nothing compared to ours. We forgot how important it was to have time for children. How important children were. And we realized we needed them, as much as they needed us."

Jack finally took the courage to look up at the Russian, not caring how glossy his eyes may look. He watched as those blue eyes softened at him and let the hand rub soothing circles on his back, "300 years is pretty long…"

Jack managed a watery smile, "You don't know the half of it."

"But I do know the half of it." North moved closer to the teen and pulled him in a warm embrace, "And we're sorry for that."

Jack tightly shut his eyes and clutched the coat, unconsciously hoping this wasn't a dream. He opened his mouth and spoke in a trembling voice, "Thank you…"

North chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood, "And for that… I'm proud of you for being strong. For being brave. For finding your center. For being a guardian. And… for being Jack Frost."

Jack tried to laugh, "That's a lot of things to be proud of." He was hoping for a funny comeback, but he only got tighter hug. And as North opened his mouth to speak his next words, Jack found himself crying and laughing at the same time. He could never get over this.

"I'm proud of you, son."

**END**

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**What do you think? I hope you liked the fic.. and the cover photo... totally made by me! xD**

**Reviews and faves, as usual, makes my day! :)**


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